Submitted by Aquillyne t3_zxaezl in Futurology
lofgren777 t1_j1z6d56 wrote
My understanding of blockchain technology is that it is a ledger that anybody can edit but nobody can tamper with. I agree with blockchain enthusiasts that this seems like a technology that SHOULD have exciting prospects. Nothing like that has ever existed before. There must be something revolutionary we can do with it.
However as a currency, the only advantage I could see to crypto would be if governments collapsed and you still needed a global exchange to facilitate trade. Unfortunately, exactly the inefficiencies you mention make it impossible to sustain in such a chaotic environment.
It seems like the primary function may well be to facilitate crime. If I understand how it works correctly, then the mafia could, for the first time ever, keep 100% accurate books without risking that they could be turned into evidence. Don Bruno can keep track of exactly how much his cousin Eddy is skimming from the brothel business.
But that application ceases to be valuable if there are no governments enforcing a centralized currency that you can ultimately convert your bitcoins into.
lumberjack_jeff t1_j1z7z9a wrote
So, essentially the optimal use case is a scenario where the national government collapsed taking its currency with it, but leaving the electric grid intact.
lofgren777 t1_j1z867o wrote
Even then it seems like you'd rather use your remaining tech for anything that couldn't be replicated by other means.
Basically it seems like a solution in search of a problem. Whatever application ends up being game changing will probably be to a problem we don't even perceive and can't predict (though of course the whole point of this thread is to try so I'm not poo pooping anybody's fun).
DA-FUNK-5555 t1_j1zegny wrote
Id like to see my countries budget and funds on a block chain. That way all the funds and where they go could be monitored by the public.
magicseadog t1_j1z9em1 wrote
The wild part to me is that exchanges seem to be the easiest way to launder money. It's easy to track money in wallets until it hits an exchange and if that exchange is outside your jurisdiction...
Isn't that wild. That the formal trading place is easiest way to launder?
Also the 2nd largest exchange ftx was basically breaking all the finance laws we have, I think it's fair to say it's an industry wide problem.
Personally I wouldn't mind a huge government crackdown. People could still use distributed ledger technology but the whole crypto as money thing is just scams, fraud and illegal activity and doesn't seem to be serving society.
TruthOf42 t1_j1z9irz wrote
IMHO Blockchain as a currency is much like the idea of using physical objects as a currency. We have used many different objects, seashells, gold, paper, coins, etc. All of these objects are analogous to different implementations of Blockchain, there are pros and cons to all of these and there many different ways to implement them. So it's very unfair to lump all cryptos together.
That all being said, anyone who says it's all a scam or anyone who says crypto is the most amazing thing ever are idiots.
At the very least, I 100% see banking institutions implementing Blockchain behind the scenes that they use to keep track of transactions. But, I think, eventually, any entity that wants to accurately account for all transactions and prevent tampering will use some implementation of Blockchain.
Getting an implementation of Blockchain that works for the entire world is going to be HARD. There will be growing pains, but the technology allows for change, so it's not like everyone is locked into a certain implementation.
lofgren777 t1_j1zckxk wrote
My understanding is that blockchain isn't really useful "behind the scenes." It's value is that it can be exposed to the public without being messed with or traced. Banks want everything to be traceable and secret, so they are better off keeping private ledgers. The only reason it is appealing to the mob is because they have to worry about getting exposed, so you can't have a private ledger with a list of all your crimes in a safe in your office the way a bank can.
TruthOf42 t1_j1zp2ii wrote
No, it absolutely is useful behind the scenes, because even if someone wanted to, they couldn't fudge the numbers at all. The current system relies, to some extent, on trust, even within the system.
Blockchain allows anyone, in your org, for example, to access the system and not having to trust them. If they make a transaction it will be seen. This would be amazing for accountants and forensics because they can KNOW all transactions are accounted for
pocman512 t1_j1zb4kf wrote
It's literally all a scam, or useless.
Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments